


Stoneheart

by TakingOverMidnight3482



Series: Think Outside the Love Square [6]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Identity Reveal, Mylene/Ivan mentioned, One sided, aka Ivan definitely knows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 17:04:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16559771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakingOverMidnight3482/pseuds/TakingOverMidnight3482
Summary: “Awww, look, he’s sitting all by himself, like usual. Not surprising no one would want to sit with him after he proved what a monster he is.”A backpack slammed down onto the table next to him and Ivan jumped a foot in the air, whipping his head around to stare at Marinette Dupain-Cheng, of all people, as she sat calmly in the seat beside him. “Morning,” she said, her voice cheerful.Ivan could see the slight twitch in her eye, and his gaze shot to Chloe, who was now scowling, Alya, who was smirking to herself, the rest of the class, who were smiling as well. “Uh...morning?” he offered.





	Stoneheart

**Author's Note:**

> So I kind of expanded on the piece I wrote for Ivan in "Epiphanies" on my fanfiction account, so if it sounds familiar, that might be why. But this is literally...like the most obvious reveal to me. 
> 
> Been behind on NaNoWriMo, ugh. Getting my writing in before work today. 
> 
> (Note: Chloe is a total bitch in this one bc she has not yet had her redemption arc) (also forgive me my computer doesn't do accents so Mylene's name is technically not spelled right rip accent grave)

When Ivan returned to the school the next day, the day after he was transformed for a second time, he entered the classroom cautiously, keeping his head low and his hands on the straps of his backpack in the hopes that maybe no one would speak to him. 

Of course, with Chloe in his class, when had that ever been an option? 

“Look at that Sabrina, he’s NOT a giant piece of rock today! Don’t make him mad, he might crush you!” 

Ivan flinched and shut his eyes, taking his seat behind Alya silently and lowering his eyes to his desk. 

“Awww, look, he’s sitting all by himself, like usual. Not surprising no one would want to sit with him after he proved what a monster he is.” 

A backpack slammed down onto the table next to him and Ivan jumped a foot in the air, whipping his head around to stare at Marinette Dupain-Cheng, of all people, as she sat calmly in the seat beside him. “Morning,” she said, her voice cheerful. 

Ivan could see the slight twitch in her eye, and his gaze shot to Chloe, who was now scowling, to Alya, who was smirking to herself, and to the rest of the class, who were smiling as well. “Uh...morning?” he offered. 

She hummed and rummaged through her bag, pulling out a notebook. “Do you have yesterday’s science notes? I missed out on some of them.” 

“Uh...y-yeah, sure.” 

As he reached into his bag, Ivan contemplated the situation. He knew what Marinette was doing: proving to the class that he wasn’t a threat. Proving that it wasn’t his fault, though Ivan still wasn’t sure it hadn’t been. The akumatization. 

He wasn’t sure how he felt about this yet. About everyone avoiding him more than usual, about Marinette sitting with him to make that stop. He got the feeling she didn’t actually pity him, because if he felt that, he wouldn’t let her sit with him. Rather, she seemed like she genuinely cared. 

Ivan had known Marinette since primary school, since they were little kids, and she had always been kind to him, even when no one else was. Most of their classmates had relaxed around him when they saw itty-bitty Marinette playing with huge, hulking Ivan in the sand pit, and it had stayed that way until Chloe had joined their class. 

Kim and Sabrina had been the first ones to turn against him, though Ivan wasn’t sure Kim was all that into it. Still wasn’t sure he wasn’t doing it just because of his crush (which, if Kim couldn’t see the person crushing on him sitting literally right next to him, maybe he was just more blind than Ivan gave him credit for). 

Nathaniel had been next, but not because of Chloe. He was just...scared, was all. Ivan didn’t blame him for that. He was the walking talking cliché of a high school bully, after all. 

The rest of the class hadn’t joined Chloe in her tirade against him, but they also hadn’t stood up for him most of the time. The exceptions were Marinette and, most of the time, Nino and Mylene. They may not have stood up for him all the time, but they aligned themselves with him silently, frequently sitting with him at lunch and inviting him in to group projects. 

It seemed Marinette was doing that now, and by the look on Nino’s face when he walked in, the way it flipped from determination to satisfaction, he had the feeling that she hadn’t been the only one to think of doing it. 

He handed over the notes silently and then clasped his hands on his desk, fingers drumming against each other. "Thank you,” he said softly. 

Marinette glanced between Ivan’s notes and her own paper as she spoke. “Yeah, well...yesterday wasn’t your fault. Hawkmoth transformed you, you just got upset. It's a normal human emotion, you shouldn’t have to feel bad about it.” 

She slid the paper back over, locking gazes with a warm smile. “You didn’t hurt anyone on purpose. It’s okay.” 

He jolted as he took the paper, studying her gaze carefully. He had seen that look before. That intense kindness, the calm, collected words, the gentle spread of her lips into a smile. 

In Ladybug. 

Ivan sucked in a breath and stuffed the paper away, grabbing a new one and pencil and forcing his attention to the classroom board as Mlle. Bustier started class. 

He tuned her out, covering his mouth with his hand and wracking his brain. Not possible, right? Marinette was the clumsiest person he’d ever met in his entire life. Ladybug... 

Ladybug had screwed up a lot yesterday, from what Ivan had gathered from the Internet. Dropping her yo-yo, hitting Chat Noir, making clutzy, dumb mistakes. 

They were new heroes, that was obvious, but Chat Noir hadn’t been nearly as bad. Which meant that she was just naturally clumsy. And her hair, her eyes, her voice, her kindness... 

Ivan shot a glance at her to find Marinette dutifully taking notes, her tongue poking from the corner of her mouth. 

Ladybug had known his name. And Mylene’s. And Alya’s. No one had told her, and it was obvious that she didn’t know everyone in the city. She had known that he had written a song for Mylene without even reading the paper. The only one he had talked to about that was Marinette. 

Ivan gritted his teeth and looked down at his blank notes page, tracing the pencil thoughtfully over the corner of the paper. It etched itself into a music note and Ivan pursed his lips. 

He had read a lot of comic books in his time. Maybe not as many as Nathaniel or Max, but a lot. He knew the dangers of knowing a superhero’s identity, what it meant for them, and for him. He might not know who Chat Noir was (or did he? If Ladybug was in his class, maybe Chat Noir – but that was a thought for another day), but knowing even one half of the duo was dangerous. 

If Hawkmoth knew that Ivan knew, his parents were in trouble. Marinette’s parents and grandmother and friends. If Marinette knew that he knew, she’d probably get nervous, probably freak out around him and try to keep him extra safe, and if that happened, she wouldn’t be at her top game fighting the next akuma. 

Ivan lifted his pencil from the paper and glanced up at the board to make it look like he was at least kind of paying attention. He saw the diagram of heroes and villains on the board and didn’t understand a single word, so he went back to his doodles. 

Marinette was Ladybug. Ladybug was Marinette. His classmate had been given the power to save them, to do good, and it suited her, Ivan knew that. He could admit to himself that he had crushed on Marinette as a kid, that only insane people didn’t. He adored Mylene, but he knew he would always have a soft spot for his apparently superhero classmate. 

She deserved it. She really did. She had proven that the last few days. 

The bell rang, jolting Ivan from his thoughts, and Marinette nudged him. “Are you okay?” she asked, gaze flickering over him. 

He made his decision then and there. “Yeah. Thanks, Marinette. I might need those notes later, though.” 

She smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Of course, any time. Join me and Alya for lunch later?” 

He glanced over at Mylene and pressed his lips together. “Thanks, but I uh...I’m going to go for lunch with Mylene.” 

Marinette’s eyes twinkled. “Good." 

She skipped away, joining up with Alya, and Ivan released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He grabbed his bag and shouldered it, watching them leave the classroom. 

He wasn’t going to say anything. Not now, anyway. Not unless he absolutely had to, unless doing otherwise would literally hurt someone. 

Marinette had always been there for him. It was about time he was there for her.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this isn't how the actual day after went for them, but it should have been. 
> 
> I need the series finale to involve all the classmates defending and protecting Marinette/Ladybug with Ivan and Chat Noir front and center bc tbh what is even the point if it doesn't happen that way


End file.
